Our History

Our Beginning

We celebrate the beginning of Immanuel as 1874, but the first settlers of the area actually began gathering for service in 1852 each time the circuit rider, Pastor J.M. Kugel, came through the area. This continued until 1871 when there were enough families in the area to create a church. In 1871 the first Immanuel Lutheran Congregation was formed with 27 households.

However, due to disagreements, this congregation disbanded in 1872 and split into three different congregations, The Lutheran Church at Dessau (this church building now stands at Pioneer Farms), the Lutheran Church at Richland (now St. John’s Lutheran on Cameron Road), and the The Lutheran Church in Pflugerville (now Immanuel).

On May 31, 1874 a church constitution was proposed for Immanuel and adopted by 11 heads of households. This is the date we mark as the beginning of Immanuel.

About a year later, in June of 1875, the first church building, the little white church pictured here, was dedicated. It stood on 5 acres of land donated by William Bohls. 

At this time, the congregation also had a Parochial School taught by the pastor for the village of Pflugerville.

As the church continued to grow, the congregation realized more property would be required. In 1889, William Pfluger donated 4 acres of property for church purposes.

A New Church Building

The turn of the century saw continued growth for Immanuel. In the early 1900’s the first choir was organized with 40 members.

In 1909 the congregation resolved to build a new church building to replace the original white church. The new church would be much larger and more grand, reflecting their dedication to their faith and the health of the congregation. 

A beautiful red brick church was built at the cost of $10,300 and dedicated in 1910.

A number of additional building projects were undertaken at this time including a new parsonage which was built in 1914 and the Luther League Auditorium (the first Lutheran Parish Hall in Texas) which was built in 1916. An additional 2 acres of land was purchased in 1916 for enlargement of the cemetery.

This time also saw the start of multiple church organizations including the Luther League which was organized in 1913 and the Tabea Verein (Ladies Aid) which was organized in 1915. 

Technology advancements during this time included the installation of the first church telephone in 1911 and the first automobile for the pastor, replacing the pastor’s horse, in 1916.

The congregation’s 50th anniversary was celebrated in 1924.

Rising from the Ashes

In 1928, tragedy struck Immanuel. The new, beautiful red brick church caught fire due to a furnace issue and burned. Men from all over the area rushed to help, but the church was completely destroyed. All that was saved was four pews from the back of the building, the baptismal font, the picture of Christ in Gethsemane on the altar, and the cross on the altar. You can still see these things in our present building. The pews from the burned church have been lovingly restored and sit in our Parish Hall and entryway, the cross and picture are still on our Sanctuary altar, and the baptismal font is still used for each baptism in our Sanctuary.

But, out of difficulty grows miracles. Even though they had suffered a huge loss, the congregation was able to immediately raise the money needed, and a new church was built in only one year. This is the church that stands today – an enduring testament to the dedication of the generations before us.

The current church building was built at a cost of $43,000 and was dedicated in 1929 with more than 1000 people in attendance. The population in Pflugerville at that time was just over 500.

The 1940’s brought World War II and with it, the transition from German services to English. Many of the families also stopped speaking German publicly at this time and many parents did not teach their children the language. 

In the 1940’s women became voting members at Immanuel and the Brotherhood men’s group was organized in 1941. 

As the needs of the congregation changed, additional property and construction projects took place including selling the old school building in 1943, erecting the stone cemetery fence in 1944, digging a well with an electric pump to service the church in 1948, and excavating the back of the church basement for kitchen facilities in 1949.

In 1949 the 75th Anniversary of the congregation was celebrated with three worship services.

A Modern, Evolving Church

The period from 1950 through the early 70’s is marked by the church continuing to evolve to better serve the congregation and community. In 1951 the Junior Mission Band (later called the Junior Lutherans) was organized. In 1960 the Tabea Verein (Ladies Aid) and Women’s Missionary Societies both individually dissolved and then combined to become the ALCW (American Lutheran Church Women). 

In the community, the Pflugerville High School football team received recognition for having won 55 consecutive games in 1962. This still holds the Texas state record for most consecutive games won. Many of this team and coaches were members of Immanuel. The whole town celebrated this achievement!

Immanuel’s congregation continued to prioritize keeping its facilities modern and in good working order. A new parsonage and education building were built at a cost of $100,000 in 1964. Air conditioning was installed in the church in 1970 (the people rejoiced!), tennis courts were added in 1971, the church moved from well water to Manville water in 1974, and the church and education building were renovated and painted in 1973 leading up to the 100th anniversary celebration. 

In 1974, Immanuel celebrated its 100th anniversary! Many anniversary gifts were given including the Chapel (with altar, carpeting and chairs), individual chalice communion set, new office equipment, carpeting, pew cushions, tables, chairs, a chain link fence for the cemetery, flag pole, Sanctuary lamp, and many other items. The Centennial Celebration was on May 26 with morning and afternoon services and the dedication of our historical marker.

1974 also marked when the Immanuel Pastor began taking youth to Confirmation Camp on annual basis.

A Focus on Youth and Church Life

The last part of the 20th century brought a new focus on youth ministry as well as new missions events and additions to church life.

In 1975, Immanuel confirmed it’s largest confirmation class with 37 youth being confirmed. In 1976 many of the youth of Immanuel formed the J.C. and Company Youth Choir (pictured here). This group brought their love of singing and fellowship together to “rock the boat” at Immanuel and introduced a new style of worship music to the congregation featuring acoustic guitar music and camp style songs. A number of original songs written by members of J.C. and Company were included in the mix, with some still being sung at Immanuel today. J.C. and company traveled around Texas performing at churches and stayed intact through the 90’s. This group remains connected to Immanuel and great friends to the present day. 

By popular demand, in 1977 Immanuel began having two morning Worship Services on Communion Sundays. This was very well received and by 1981 the congregation begin having two services every Sunday.

In 1978 Immanuel assisted in establishing a mission congregation in Round Rock. 

New groups during this time, in addition to J.C. and Company, were the bell choir in 1980 (after the bells were gifted to the congregation), Tired and Retired in 1989, Men’s Breakfast group in 1990, and Children’s Choir in 1995. The church day school (Immanuel Lutheran Day School) was started in 1985 and still continues today.

This time period also saw the start of several of our long-loved events. Our Luminary (drive through live nativity) was started in 1985 and the SEARCH Easter program on our famous hand built rotating stage began in 1991.

Like in previous times, a large emphasis was put on keeping our facilities up to date and making improvements. In 1981, a storm destroyed the stone cross on the church tower. It was soon replaced and the church carillon system (which plays hymns on the church bells) was also installed. In 1983, a new building was constructed largely by congregational volunteers. $100,000 was raised for this multi-purpose building and members completed it with volunteer efforts. This building is our current Parish Hall. 1983 also saw the purchase of our first church computer. 3 additional acres were given to the church by the Bohls family in 1984 for expansion. There was a Sanctuary and basement restoration in 1990 and in 1991 an elevator to the Sanctuary was installed. 

In the wider Lutheran church, in 1985 the American Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church in America, and American Evangelical Church merged to create the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). This is the church body we are still a part of today. 

In 1999, Immanuel celebrated its 125th Anniversary on May 30th. 

A Historic Church With a Modern Mission

The new century brought new goals and new missions to Immanuel. In 2001 the first full time youth director was hired by the congregation and by 2005 a youth intern was added to the youth ministry staff. The congregation has continued to prioritize its youth in programming and support. A free-standing Sunday School hour was added in 2003 along with a third service with “contemporary” music. Our praise band, Sotaria, was formed and still provides the music for this service. In 2005, communion began being celebrated every Sunday.

In 2002, construction of the building housing our Gym and Day School classrooms was completed and the Day School moved into the new building. A renovation of the old Education building was completed shortly after transforming the old Day School classrooms into the current Gather Room, Conference Room, Grow Room, and Breezeway. This project also connected all of our buildings so people no longer had to go outside and make their way across courtyards to get from one place to the next. It can be a bit confusing getting around still today, so be sure to ask if you need some direction!

In the Sanctuary, a stained glass window was broken by a storm in 2000. The window repair was completed in 2004 and protective glass was added. A new ramp to the Sanctuary was built in 2006 along with the church park and Prayer Garden. 

Our missions continued to develop during this time as well with the addition of the Food Pantry in 2003. By 2007, the Food Pantry had outgrown the room it was in and was relocated to the former parsonage, now the “Yellow Brick House Food Pantry”. In 2014, our food ministry was expanded to include our Backpack Ministry which works with Pflugerville ISD to provide food for the weekend every week of the school year to children at Ruth Barron Elementary who are food insecure. 

Immanuel’s Luminary got an upgrade in 2004 when cedar branches with lights replaced the milk jugs with candles that had previously lined the driving path. In 2007 a new street sign was built and new hymnals were purchased. In 2013 our new logo was unveiled along with our mission statement “Gather, Grow & Serve”.

Like the rest of the world, in March of 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic forced the suspension of our in-person worship services. Worship and church activities were managed through Zoom and live-streamed YouTube videos. This continued until June of 2021 when the first in-person worship service was held after 15 months. The pandemic led to improvements to our AV system which allowed us to continue live-streaming our services each week. This is still done today for each service at Immanuel. 

In May of 2024, Immanuel celebrated its 150th anniversary with a large combined service with people participating from areas all around our church campus as well as online. A lunch celebration and program commemorating our 150 years took place after the service.

Immediately after the anniversary celebration, a large Sanctuary Restoration project was started to preserve our historic Sanctuary for future generations. This project was completed in March of 2025.

The history of Immanuel is still being written. Each of us are a part of this ongoing story of faith and service. May we follow God’s call in our own lives to keep this ministry thriving during our time here.